London Calling

You may not know this about me but one of my greatest passions in life is the history of the Tudors (which makes me kinda geeky, but eh, no one’s perfect, are they?)

The Tudors (1485 – 1603) is the name of a dynasty of British kings and its two most famous monarchs are Henry VIII and Elizabeth I.

Henry VIII is, to me, most interesting, not only because of his troubled love affairs but also for his political and religious role in England. You all know him for his 6 wives, two of which he had beheaded (= décapitées), which inspired the fairy tale character of Blue Beard. But he also created a tremendous change in his country when he cut England off from Rome and catholicism and « created »a new religion: Protestantism, which is still the British dominant religion today. And this is to put a very very long story in only a few words, because, believe me, the whole thing is rather complicated.

Why am I telling you this today? Because fiction, both on television and in cinemas, seems to find inspiration in this part of British history.

If you have Canal +, you can watch The Tudors, a show aired last year on the American cable channel Showtime. Girls, this is for you, the king is played by the gorgeous Jonathan Rhys-Meyers. It is a really enthralling show, which mixes the political with the religious in quite a sensual light.

16th- century international conspiracies meet glamourous love stories, let’s say.

And although it has been criticised for using this angle, I do think it is an excellent vision of the whole period.

Here is the trailer:

So, funnily enough, today is released another Tudor fiction named The Other Boleyn Girl (in French Deux Soeurs Pour un Roi). I read the book a couple of years ago and it recounts the story of Mary Boleyn, Anne Boleyn’s sister.

Anne Boleyn was Henry’s second wife, Queen of England and mother to Elizabeth I. She cunningly managed to get her way to the throne, partly because she really loved the King, partly because she had a thirst for power…but she ended up beheaded, under accusations of witchcraft (= sorcellerie), she was also accused of sleeping with her own brother…and of having a third breast.

What is less known is that, before all this happened, Mary, Anne’s sister was the king’s mistress as well, but unfortunately, he got bored with her.

You see, British history can be really fascinating. And compares quite easily to the paparazzi anecdotes of our own political life.

Here is the trailer of the film:

As the holidays are coming soon, you might want to watch one of these two fictions, and who knows, you could catch my Tudor bug…